N.H. man faces another OUI charge

LOWELL -- A 55-year-old man with a 1976 conviction for motor-vehicle homicide and a pending drunken-driving charge is behind bars after he was arrested Thursday on another drunken-driving charge after he allegedly rear-ended a car and fled the scene.

In Lowell District Court on Friday, Brian Sinclair, of 90 Auburn Road, Londonderry, N.H., pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of property damage, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Judge Thomas Brennan revoked Sinclair's bail on a pending drunken-driving case -- holding him without bail -- while setting $5,000 cash bail in the new case.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Lowell police allege in court documents that at 6:21 p.m. Thursday officers spotted a brown minivan speeding along Armory Street when it jumped the curb and began to drive down railroad tracks. Police saw that a black car was chasing the brown minivan due to an accident. Police stopped both cars.

The driver of the black Nissan Altima, Edwin Attia, told Lowell police that while at the intersection of Bridge and French streets, he was rear-ended by a brown minivan being driven by Sinclair.

Attia pulled over with the intent to exchange papers for the minor damage to his car, but Sinclair drove off so Attia began to follow the minivan.

Sinclair admitted to police he rear-ended Attia's car.

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But he claimed the damage wasn't significant, so there was no reason to stop. Sinclair said he was driving to his daughter's home on Bridge Street.

While speaking with Sinclair, police noticed an odor of alcohol emanating from his breath. A check of Sinclair's license showed it was suspended and he has a pending drunken-driving charge from nine months ago.

Sinclair allegedly admitted to drinking "only a few beers." He failed field-sobriety tests and refused a Breathalyzer test, police state. When officers arrested Sinclair for drunken driving, Sinclair began yelling profanities at the officer and threatening to beat him up.

In Lowell District Court on Friday, Sinclair pleaded not guilty to operating under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of property damage, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Prosecutor Christopher Minue asked that Sinclair's bail on the pending case be revoked, holding him without bail, and that bail be set at $10,000 cash for the new case. Minue noted Sinclair's prior motor-vehicle homicide conviction and recent arrest.

But defense attorney Larry Colby asked that Sinclair, who owns an auto-body shop in Lowell, be released under house arrest, except for work.

Colby told Judge Thomas Brennan that something has "gone terribly wrong" with his client. Sinclair had been sober for years, shedding the drinking days of his youth, but he began to drink again while going through a divorce, Colby said.

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